Flat knitting machine



P 1933- A. FRIEDMANN ET AL 1,926,522

FLAT KNITT ING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l fi zo 21 70M50 do 15 FIG: I v 72 72 1 52 2395 1 51 1o 50 a1 70 30 F WITNESSES Sept.12, 1933. A FRIEDMANN Er L 1,926,522

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 l Sept. 12,1933. l A. FRIEDMANN ET AL' 1,926,522

' FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed Jun e 26, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 W1 TNE ES'INVENTOR: T

pt- 1933 A. FRIEDMANN ET AL 1,926,522

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIFTL TZ arWITNESSES 1N VEN TOR:

p 2, 1933. A. FRIEDMANN in N. 1,926,522

FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Filed June 26, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG- T11 a BYW I wows s.

Patented Sept. 12, 1933 FLAT KNITTING MACHINE Albert Friedmann,Wyomissing, and Albert Rudelt, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors of one-halfto Minisac Mills, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania, and one-half to Louis Hirsch Textile Machines, Inc., NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 26, 1931. SerialNo. 547,024

3 Claims. (Cl. 66--96) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This inventionrelates to flat knitting machines; and it has more especial reference tofull needles so as to transfer loops back and forth between adjacentneedles and thereby form the open meshes of the fabric.

In the main. our invention is directed toward making possibleproduction, with a knitting machine organization of the characterindicated, of laceor open mesh fabrics having ornamentally configuredareas of plain knit loops, for example, stocking blanks with upwardlytapered plain knit high heel areas. This desideratum we realize inpractice, through provision of a simple automatic mechanism with coverblade means adapted to be interposed between selected groups of needlesand the corresponding lace points, thereby to prevent such points fromfunctioning with resultant production of plain knit areas by theselected needles, and also adapted to be periodi cally shifted for thepurpose of predetermining an ornamental configuration for the plain knitareas.

In the more specific adaptation to flat stocking knitting machines, itis a further aim of our invention to provide for progressive shiftingof. the cover blade means, incident to knitting of rein forced taperedor otherwise ornamentally-configured high heel areas or the like,concurrently and compensatively with the throw limiting stops for theauxiliary yarn carriers. thereby to prevent functioning of the pointscorresponding to the changing groups of heel needles served with theauxiliary yarns, and so determine a plain knit texture in the saidornamentallysconfigured reinforced areas.

Still other objects and attendant advantages will be manifest from thedetailed description following in connection with the attached drawings,wherein Fig. I shows a fragmentary front elevation of a full fashionedstocking leg knitting machine conveniently embodying our invention.

Fig. II is a cross sectional view of the machine taken as indicated bythe arrows II--II in Fig. I.

Fig. III is a fragmentary cross sectional view corresponding to Fig. IIshowing certain parts of the organization in changed positions.

Fig. IV is another cross section of the machine taken as indicated bythe arrows IV-IV in Fig. I.

Fig. V is a diagrammatic illustration showing the operation of ourinvention incident to the knitting of the instep and heel portion of astocking leg blank.

Fig. VI is a detail view showing the action of the cover blade means.

Fig. VII illustrates an open mesh or lace stocking with a tapered plainknit high heel such as may be produced with our novel mechanism and.Fig. VIII is a fragmentary diagrammatic view showing the texture of thestocking fabric along the juncture between the instep and one of thetapered plain knit reinforced high heel areas.

The knitting machine herein shown for convenience in illustrating ourinvention is, generally speaking, standard both as regards itsconstruction and operation, and designed to simultaneously produce anumber of full fashioned stocking blanks like the one shown at B in Fig.V, with reinforced high heel areas I-I. As usual, the illustratedmachine comprises a series of aligned needle bars 10 each carrying adouble bank of needles N, which bars are reciprocated verticallyrelative to the horizontally sliding sinkers, indicated by the letter Sin Fig. II, through suitable mechanism operated by rotary cams (notshown) on the cam shaft 12 of the machine to determine formation ofsuccessive fabric loop courses inthe several stocking blanks B after amanner well known in the art. The main yarns Y, which are usedthroughout the knitting of the stocking blanks B, are served by fingers13 on a reciprocating carrier bar or rod 14; while the auxiliary yarns Yused concurrently with the body yarn Y incident to knitting of thereinforced heel areas H, are served by fingers 15 and 16 respectively onseparate carrier rods 17 and 18. The three identified carrier rods 14,17 and 18, together with others not particularly pertinent to ourinvention, are slidably supported in upward guide brackets 19 bolted tothe longitudinal center beam 20 at the top of the machine frame 21.Incident to fashioning of the stocking blanks B, the throw of the mainyarn carrier bar 14 is limited in both directions by stops controlled bythe usual screw operated narrowing heads (not shown) at the oppositeends of the machine.

The outward throw of the auxiliary yarn carrier rods 17, 18 is likewiselimited by suitable stops embodied in the aforementioned narrowingheads; while the inward throw of said auxings 24 afforded by brackets 25fixed to the ma chine frame 21 at the rear. The reverse threads 23a, 23bof the spindle 23 serve to shift a pair of nut collars 26, 27 eithertoward or away from each other depending upon the direction in which thespindle 23 is rotated, said nut collars being respectively formed withforwardly reachingstop arms 26a, 27a. These stop arms 26a, 27a arerespectively fitted with adjustable screws 28 and 29 adapted to beengaged by lugs 17a and 18a on the auxiliary yarn carrier rods 17, 18,see Figs. II, III and V. The reversely threaded screw spindle 23 isintermittently rotated under the governance of the usual measuring chain30 of the machine, through racking mechanism which includes a-doublepawl 31 with fingers 31a, 31b for selective action respectively uponoppositely pitched ratchet wheels 32 and 33 fast on the screw-spindle23. As shown, the double pawl 31 is pivoted to the upward arm 34a of arock lever 34 which is centrally fulcrumed on a longitudinal shaft 35 atthe rear of the top of the machine. The downward arm 34b of the rocklever 34 is coupled, by means of a horizontal link 36, with a curved arm37, which latter is fulcrumed on a bracket 38 bolted or otherwiserigidlysecured to the rear bottom channel beam 39 of the machine frame21 and which is subject to a helical tension spring 40. The curved arm37 overreaches the cam shaft 12, and, as shown, has projecting laterallytherefrom a stud shaft 41 whereon is mounted an axially slidable roller42 which is adapted to be influenced by a rotary cam 43 on the said camshaft. 1 Normally the roller 42 rides a circular disk 44 on the cam.shaft 12 adjacent the rotary cam 43 just referred to. The means directlyinstrumental in shifting the roller 42 on the stud shaft 41 of thecurved arm 37, from the circular disk 44 to the cam-43 and vice'versa,has the form of a yoke arm 45 that reaches inward from a horizontal rod46 having support for longitudinal sliding movement in bearings 4'7 atthe front of the machine frame 21. From Fig. I it will be observed thatthe slide rod 46 is urged toward the left by a compression spring 48 andcoupled, through alink 49, with the upward arm of an angle lever 50fulcrumed to rock on a stud 51 in a fixed bracket 52 which is mounted onthe lower frontal beam 53 of the machine frame 2l. The horizontal arm ofthe angle lever 50 lies in the path of suitably allocated actuating lugs(not shown) on the measuring chain 30. The direction of picking of thescrew spindle 23 of the patterning stop means 22 is selectivelydetermined by swinging the double pawl 31 downward 0r upward about itspivot whereby its pick fingers 31a and 31b are respectively brought intooperative position for action upon the ratchets 32 and 33 on the'saidspindle. Such swinging of the pawl 31 is induced by means of avertical'rod 55 21. By means of a compression spring 62, the free end ofthe transverse rod 60 is yieldingly maintained in the path of a campiece 63 on another longitudinal slide rod 64 below the slide rod 46 atthe front of the machine, said rod 64 being subject to a compressionspring 64a. As shown in Fig. I,. the slide rod 64 is .coupled, by meansof a link 65, with another angle lever 66 fulcrumed on the same stud 51with the angle lever 50 aforementioned, and adapted to be actuated byanother set of suitably allocated lugs (not shown) on the measuringchain 30 of the machine. The usual picking mechanism 67 for themeasuring chain 30 is operated by another rotary cam 68 on the cam shaft12, see Fig. I.

The fashioning .or shaping of the stocking blanks B is controlled solelythrough variantly limiting the outward throw of the main yarn carrier,rod 14 without the aid of the fashioning mechanism of the machine, whichlatter is employed in the present instance to raise and lower the lacepoint bars shown at '70, of which there is one providedfor each set ofthe needles N. The points of the bars '70 which cooperate withindividual needles, are designated by the letter P in all the drawings.vAs usual, the lace point bars '70 aremounted on a horizontal rod 71which is shiftable endwise in brackets '72 attached to forwardlyreaching curved dipping arms '73, of the.

fashioning mechanism of the machine, said arms being secured to theshaft 35, which, through suitable connections (not shown) isintermittentlyrocked by cams on the cam shaft 12 in the well knownmanner. The rod '71 carrying the several lace point bars '70 isperiodically shifted longitudinally, first in one direction and then inthe other as the knitting progresses, under control of a mechanism '74which is of a well known type and located near the left hand end of themachine. see Fig. I. The various cooperating elements of this lacecontrol mechanism '74 are actuated by cams 75, '76 and '77 on thecamshaft 12 under governance of the measuring chain 30 which carries stillanother set of suitable lugs (not shown) to actuate a third angle lever'78, the latter being independently fulcrumed on the stud 51 alongsidethe angle levers 50 and 66 hereinbefore described, and coordinated withthe said lace control mechanism '74 by means of a link connection shownat '79 in Fig. I. In the present instance, the lace control mechanism'74 is so arranged and timed as to determine the formation of openmeshes such as shown at M in Figs. VII and VIII in the stocking legblanks B produced on the machine. I

Having described sufficient of a standard full fashioned knittingmachine to enable those skilled in the art to readily understand ourinvention, we will now proceed to the novel mechanism whereby we areenabled to attain the ends hereinbefore pointed out. Referring to Figs.I, II, III and V, the numerals and 81 designate cover blades of whichthere is a pair associated with each bank or series of the needles N onthe bars 10. These cover blades 80, 81 are respectively secured'tohorizontal rods 82 and 83 which are supported, with capacity forrotation as well as for endwise'sliding, in the brackets '72 at the endsof the curved dipping arms'73 of the fashioning mechanism" of themachine. Incident to dipping movement of the arms '73, the cover blades80, 81 are brought down concurrently with the lace point bars '70 so asto occupy a position between the lace points P and the needles N, asshown in Fig. VI, thereby to prevent the covered points from taking theloops L from the corresponding needles N as more fully explainedhereinafter. Secured to the rods 82 and 83, are fingers 84 and 85 withlaterally projecting studs 86, 8'7 in their ends overlying tappet heads88; 89 at the upper ends of vertical rods 90 and 91, the latter beingconfined to up and down movement by guide plates 92 secured to thefrontal top beam 93 of the machine frame 21. At their lower ends therods 90-and 91 are pivotally connected to horizontal arms 94 and 95,which are fulcrumed on the machine frame 21 and carry rollers 96, 97that normally run on circular disks 98, 99 on the cam shaft 12 of themachine. However, as the cam shaft 12 is shifted to the right toinitiate a narrowing dip, rotary cams 100 and 101 alongside the circulardisks 98 and 99, are brought into the province of the rollers 96, 97with attendant lowering of the rods 90 and 91 and their heads 88, 89, tothe dot-and-dash line position shown in Fig. IV, during the ensuingrotation of the cam shaft 12 for a purpose later on explained. The meansrelied upon to shift the cover blades and 81 toward each otherconcurrently and compensatively, with increase in the throw of theauxiliary yarn carriers 17 and 18, includes a pair of collars 102 and103 which are independently shiftable axially of the usual longitudinalrod 104 which connects the ends of the curveddipping arms 73 of thenarrowing mechanism. As shown in Figs. II and V, the collars 102 and 103have rearward fingers 105 and 106 respectively engaging guide grooves107 and 108 in the extensions 26a and 27a of the nut collars 26, 27 ofthe patterning stop mechanisms 22, said grooves being curvedconcentrically with the shaft 35 to accommodate the dipping movement ofthe arms 73. Reaching forwardly from the collars 102 and 103 areprojections 109 and 110 which respectively engage between collars 111and 112 on the rods 82 and 83 whereto the cover blades 80 and 81 aresecured.

The operation of my invention to produce open mesh or lace stockingssuch as shown in Fig. VII is as follows: As before stated, the legportion or body of each stocking is knit with the main yarn alone;(designated Y in Fig. VIII) while the shaping of the stocking iseffected solely by progressively decreasing in the throw of the mainyarn carrier 13 under the control of the usual end narrowing heads ofthe machine. During the aforesaid phase of the knitting, the open meshesM of the fabric are formed as a consequence of the transfer of loopsback and forth laterally between adjacent needles N at recurrentintervals, this being accomplished by the point bar 70 in the knownmanner with the associated cover blades 80 and 81 swung upward out ofthe way or in the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. II. Beforecommencement of the ankle portion of the stocking, the machine isstopped to permit the operative to swing the cover blades 80, 81 downinto the full line operative position, and also to permit him to couplethe auxiliary yarn carriers 17 and 18 With their respective frictionboxes (not shown) in readiness for action. Upon re-starting of themachine. the lace point bar 70 continues in operation as before; but thepoints P of said bar corresponding to a definite number of heel needlesat opposite ends of each of the series N (which are served with theauxiliary yarns Y) are covered by the blades 80, 81 and therebyprevented from functioning. with resultant formation of plain knitfabric within the heel areas H. During the first dip of the arms 73 ofthe narrowing mechanism of the machine, which takes place incident toeach narrowing rotation of the cam shaft 12 when the latter is inshifted position, the rotary cams 100 and 101 permit the vertical rods90 and 91 which carry the tappet heads 88 and 89 to drop. As aconsequence, the cover blades 80 and 81 are permitted to remain in theposition shown in Fig. II for descent between the heel needles N and thecorresponding points P of the lace point bar 70. At the end of the firstdip of the arms 73, the rods 90 and 91 carrying the tappet heads 88 and89 are raised and maintained in the full line position of Fig. II, sothat, during the second clip of the said arms 73, the lateral pins 86and 87 of the fingers 84 and projecting from the cover blade rods 82 and83, encounter the tappet heads 88 and 89 with the result that the blades80 and 81 are swung to the position shown in Fig. III for descentoutward of the needles N. To form heel areas of the shape illustrated inFigs. V, VII and VIII, the throw of the auxiliary yarn carriers 15 and16 is for a time, maintained constant to predetermine the laying of theauxiliary yarns Y over the aforementioned definite number of the heelneedles N, and the cover blades 80 and 81 maintained fixed in positionsrelative to each other laterally to define square tops for the heelareas H. Eventually, the patterning con-' trol means 22 is periodicallyoperated under the governance of the measuring chain 30 in the knownmanner, to effect progressive increase in the throw of the carriers 15and 16 so that the auxiliary yarns Y are laid over a correspondinglyincreasing number of the end needles N as the knitting is continueduntil the desired full Widthis obtained in the areas H. Now, by virtueof the connection of the cover blade carrying rods 82 and 83 with thenut collars 26 and 27 on the reversely threaded spindle 23 of thepatterning mechanism 22 through the fingers 105 and 106 on the slidecollars 102 and 103, it is evident that the cover blades 80 and 81 willbe shifted toward each other concurrently with the variation in thethrow of the auxiliary yarn carriers 15 and 16 and thus cover the lacepoints P corresponding to the progressively increasing number of heelneedles N with predetermination of plain fabric loops throughout theheel areas H. As will be readily understood by skilled knitters, thedesign or configuration of the plain knit areas H may be variedindefinitely by variously allocating the lugs on the measuring chain 30relied upon to effect the picking of the patterning mechanism 22. In allinstances, the patterning means 22 will cause the cover blades 80 and 81to be shifted compensatively with the variations in the throw of theauxiliary yarn carriers 17, 18.

Having thus described our invention,'we claim:

1. In a fiat knitting machine for producing open-mesh hosiery includinga series of needles, a carrier to serve a main yarn, another carrier toconcurrently serve an auxiliary yarn, lace mechanism with a point bar toco-operate with individual needles in producing open mesh fabric, andcover blades for co-operation with certain of the needles inpredetermining formation of plain knit areas, means to shift the coverblades concurrently and compensatively with variations in the throw ofthe auxiliary yarn carriers whereby valiantly-configuredsharply-outlined solid areas may be knit in the hosiery. said meanscomprising a reversely-threaded screw, a nut on each reversely-threadedportion having a projecting arm, and independent axially-shiftable meanshaving aligned fingers respectively co-operative with grooves in theprojecting arms aforesaid and the carrier means for the cover blades.

2. In a flat knitting machine for producing open-mesh hosiery includingseries of needles, a carrier to serve auxiliary yarn, another carrier toconcurrently serve an auxiliary yarn, fashioning mechanism, lacemechanism with a point bar to co-operate with individual needles inproducing open mesh fabric, and cover blades supported by carrier rodsfor co-action with certain of the needles in predetermining formation ofplain knit areas, means to shift the cover blades concurrently andcompensatively with variations in the throw of the auxiliary yarncarriers whereby variantly-conflgured sharply-defined solid areas may beproduced in the hosiery knit, said means comprising a reversely-threadedscrew, a nut collar on each reversely-threaded portion of said screw andembodying a groove-ended projecting arm, axially-shiftable collars onthe usual rod connecting the dipping arms of the fashioning mechanism,each latter collar embody a rearwardlydirected finger engaging in thegrooved-end of the projecting arm aforesaid, and a forwardly directedprojection engageable between collars on the cover blade carrier rods.

3. In a fiat knitting machine for producing open-mesh hosiery includinga series of needles, a carrier to serve a main yarn, another carrier toconcurrently serve an auxiliary yarn, lace mechanism with a point bar toco-operate with individual needles in producing open mesh fabric. andcover blades supported by carrier rods for cooperation with certain ofthe needles in predetermining formation of plain knit areas; means tocontrol the variable throw of the yarn carriers as well as concurrentlyand compensatively shift the cover blades whereby variantly-configuredsharply-outlined solid heel areas may be produced in the hosiery knit,said means comprising a reversely-threaded screw, a nut on eachreverselythreaded portion having a projecting arm, adjustable screwscarried by said arms adapted to engage lugs on the respective yarncarriers to limit throw of the latter, and independent axiallyshiftablemeans having fingers co-operative with grooves in the arms aforesaid andopposed projections that respectively connect with the cover bladecarrier rods.

ALBERT FRIEDMANN. ALBERT RUDELT.

